And the ex-Tottenham Hotspur playmaker has praised the Portugal international for what he’s achieved since moving to Spain, whilst also commenting on what it means to play for Los Blancos.

“There are so many great players that have played for Real Madrid… Looking back, there was Di Stefano, Puskas. More recently Raul and Zidane, one of our Coaches. Cristiano, who is the past, present and future of this team,” he told realmadrid.com

“They are the players I admire the most, but my hero as a child was Zvonimir Boban. He played more than 10 years at Milan and is one of the best players in Croatian history.

“It is a great honour [to play for Madrid]. This is a great club and we have a squad full of great players, stars and I admire them all. I do not want to mention names. We have so many good players in the team.”

Alex Mott

Alex Mott is a 22-year-old freelance journalist, focusing on all aspects of the beautiful game. Having previously written for the likes of Goal.com, Football Italia and Soccer 360, he is an experienced writer happiest when waxing lyrical on Serie A and La Liga.